Kiran Trivedi Explains Why it pays to Start Saving Early

Even with all the money saving tips in the world, there’s no substitute for saving, and this week on the KiranTrivedi blog, I want to explain why you need to start saving early.

The Plight of the Young Professional

As a 20-something young professional with a good career and a steady stream of disposable income, it often seems as though you’ve got the world at your feet. You’ve got money, you’ve got time and you’ve got an established career path.

That’s why so many of these people don’t save their money. They think, ‘I’ll have plenty of time in the future, my money’s not going anywhere so I’ll start saving in my thirties.’

Retirement- It’s Kind of Expensive!

I understand this point of view, I really do, but the truth is that you’ve got it all wrong. You need to start saving in your twenties. Quite frankly, the earlier the better.

Why, I hear you ask? Well it’s all about preparing for your future. Even though it seems really far away, your retirement will arrive far quicker than you could ever possibly imagine – only 40 years or so – and young people often underestimate how much money they really need to comfortably see out their golden years. Little clue for you – it’s a lot!

Kiran Trivedi Makes His Pitch: Start Saving Earlier!

Alright, fair enough, retirement is kind of expensive. So now I hear you ask, ‘why can’t I just wait until I’m in my mid-30’s when I’m earning more and start saving then?

Basically when you save, you make interest, then you make interest on your interest, known as compound interest, which means the longer you save, the more money you make. Therefore, if you save a little money each month from your early 20’s you stand to have more in the bank by the time you hit the retirement home, than you would if you started saving later.

Furthermore, it’s actually way better for your personal finances across the board. Saving a little bit every month for 40 years leaves you with far more to live off and gives you a better quality of life, than saving a larger amount for 30 years. Can’t say fairer than that, Kiran Trivedi readers!

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Kiran Trivedi Argues: We Need to Take Our Sick Days

Something that has surprised no one, this week a survey has revealed that less people than ever are taking sick days. This is unacceptable, and this week on the Kiran Trivedi blog, I’going to let you know why.

Kiran Trivedi on the Changing of Office Culture

Once upon a time, especially in this country, it was common practise to take a sickie and play a little hooky every once in a while. Say you’d hammered the vodka a little too heavily the night before, and didn’t have anything really important to do at work the next day? It was practically expected that you’d take a sick day.

However, things have really changed. In a modern world, where markets are more competitive than ever, people simply don’t want to take a sick day. It’s not because, however, people are more committed to their professions than ever. People are simply more afraid now than they were before, that if they take too many sickies, they’ll lose their jobs.

Increase in Mental Health Issues, Long Term Illness

The numbers back this up. Industry body EEF conducted a survey of 330 firms over the past two years. This survey revealed that in the UK, the number of employees taking sick days is at an all-time low. Essentially the average dipped to 2.1%, the equivalent of 4.9 days of the year per worker.

You might think this is good, as less sick days would lead to greater productivity; you’d be wrong. EEF also found a rise in the number of workers reporting mental health problems, as well as a rise in the number of workers taking time off for a long term illness.

Bad for Business, Bad for You

Obviously this is bad for business; whilst a day off or two can be compensated for with little effort by the higher ups, when an employee takes more time off, it’s harder to compensate, and drives down the company’s bottom line.

However, I would also argue that it’s bad for the employee and their own personal finances. No sick days apparently leads to more stress, longer illness holidays etc. This often disqualifies you as a promotion prospect, and drives down the quality of your work. Essentially, you’ll stay on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, and be less likely to earn the big bucks!

There you have it Kiran Trivedi readers. You might think you’re doing yourself a favour battling through your flu and heading into work, but you really aren’t. Do yourself a favour and take the odd sick day; your personal finances will thank you in the long run!

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Kiran Trivedi Lets You Know How You Can Make Money as an Amazon Author

If you’re stuck for cash, why not break out the laptop, write a book and flog it on Amazon? This week Kiran Trivedi lets you know how you can make a tonne of easy cash as an Amazon author.

You Can Always Make Money on the Internet

It used to be almost impossible to get published. You had to write a manuscript and send it off to a publisher. It lied in a pile of manuscripts, and if you were lucky, it’d be read, but even then the chances it’d actually interest the publisher enough to prompt an investment was practically zero.

However the internet has changed everything. I’ve repeatedly told you how you can use the internet to make cash and shore up your personal finances. You can flog your old stuff on EBay, save a little money by taking advantage of a GroupOn deal or trim the grocery budget by doing your weekly food shop online.

Welcome to Kindle Direct Publishing

Now the internet has made it a whole lot easier to make cash as an author too, as you can publish your book straight to Amazon. Welcome to Kindle Direct Publishing.

If you’ve got a specialist subject, why not give it a try. Yes, you make far less money, as you don’t have the selling power of a publishing house behind you, but you earn a 70% royalty on any sale you make. Best bit? Publishing doesn’t cost a single penny!

How Can You Publish Your Book on Amazon?

You can easily use it to make the few hundred quid you need to strengthen your personal finances, and all you have to do is write the book, open an Amazon account, find the Direct Kindle Publishing page and follow the instructions.

However I would urge caution. You only make money when somebody buys your book, and if your book isn‘t good enough, you won’t make any money at all. Make sure you know what you’re talking about, that you’ve got your grammar correct and that you book is useful and/or enriches the lives of everyone who reads it. In other words, be a good author and, you guessed it, do your research!

There you have it Kiran Trivedi readers. Publishing a book on Amazon won’t change your life, but it will provide you with a steady flow of cash that’ll shore up your personal finances. Who knows, you could be the next JK Rowling!

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Kiran Trivedi’s Top Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Use a Payday Lender

With all the news on the subject lately, you should already know this, but in case you don’t, Kiran Trivedi takes the time this week to list my top five reasons why should never use a payday lender

What is a Payday Lender?

For those of you who’ve somehow managed to live in a media blackout for the past few months, a payday lenders is a service that seeks to offer you a loan that you then repay from your next wage. It’s essentially an easy way to lend money in the short term, without having to worry about the stringent checks and balances you would have to endure with most lenders.

On the face of it, payday lenders seem to be a fantastic idea. They’re quick, easy to use and efficient. You know what you’re getting and you don’t have to deal with high street banks, which have collectively lost the trust of many people in the last few years, because of the role that they played in facilitating the global financial crisis.

You Shouldn’t Use a Payday Lender for Five Reasons

However I would argue that this is an extremely short sighted and limited view, and here are my top five reason why:

1. A Circle of Money: The truth is that this isn’t free easy cash. People often seem to wilfully forget the fact that it’s a loan, and the money has to come from your next wage, leaving you with less money next month and perpetuating a horrible cycle.
2. Stress Test: There’s barely any grace period when it comes to these loans, because you’ve promised to pay it back out of your next wage. This means you’ll be stressing out a lot about how to slot the payment into your budget.
3. It’s Expensive: It’s so unbelievably expensive. Not only do they usually come with exorbitant interest rates, they also often come with extra charges, meaning that in the end, a payday loan is seriously bad value for money.
4. Continuous Payment Authority: The main reason most experts categorically advise you not to use a payday loan company is that you give them continuous payment authority. This makes the agreement difficult to cancel as you’re literally giving them the keys to your bank account, meaning that if you can’t pay them back, they’ll simply access your account to take whatever they can.
5. Subprime Lending: Did you also know it’s really bad for your credit rating, which will have ramifications when you need to make a larger financial commitment such as a mortgage? Financial institutions see it as subprime lending, which makes it look as though you are the type of person prone to needing money at the drop of a hat. Not very secure at all. 

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